Charles Woodson Got a Hero’s Welcome in Oakland

Oakland Raiders fans don’t have a lot to cheer for. They also don’t have jobs. Add that up and there was a mob on hand to welcome former Green Bay Packers safety Charles Woodson back to the Silver and Black on Wednesday.

Word got out that Woodson would be stopping by Raiders headquarters on Wednesday to sign his contract and the fans congregated. They mobbed pretty much any car that passed into the facility and some of the other players stopped for pictures and so forth. But the fans were clearly there for Chuck.

And why the hell not?

Charles Woodson is one of the best defensive backs to ever play the game. He started his NFL career with the Raiders and he’ll likely end it there. It was like the return of the king.

And yeah, we love Charles, but let’s be honest. The Raiders aren’t going anywhere this year and we’ll probably start to feel bad toward the end of the season when Woodson is anchoring some crap-ass defense for a five or six-win team.

Then again, this is Ted Thompson protege Reggie McKenzie‘s show! He traded for former Packers backup QB Matt Flynn and now he’s signed Chuck.

Those two moves will probably prove more fortuitous than his past attempts to sign former Packers. Pat Lee, anyone?

Anyway, here are the photos of the fans awaiting Charles’ arrival. Note how comfortable they look behind that large cage-like fence. Must think they’re in the yard at San Quentin.

Seriously though, we’re happy for Charles. He wanted to play, the Packers didn’t want him and he didn’t go sign with the Vikings.

Remember, there was a time when no one wanted a former-cornerback-turned-safety named Rod Woodson. He signed with the Raiders and led the league in picks in 2002. Just sayin…

Sure they’re excited. They’ve got a real, legitimate, professional football player on their team for the first time in decades. Charles wasn’t good his first go-round there, no… He had to come to GREEN BAY to learn how to be great. Unfortunately, Chuck just wasn’t good enough to crack our roster anymore, so we had no choice but to jettison him. Our trash instantly became Jokeland’s best player… Good for them, that’s what ol’ Fitzy says. It’s just a shame Charles couldn’t finish his career with a contender, beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose.

Still, you can’t give that excess to another player unless you have sufficient room on the cap, in the event he meets those incentive requirements. The Packers don’t have all that much money left ($10-13M after Rodgers’ extension and before the draft pick/FA signings) and have yet to sign their first 2 draft picks and Sam Shields. At this point would you rather have Shields or Woodson?

Woodson, like Favre before him, finds himself at the end of the road. Your previous employer let you go (whatever led up to it is immaterial at this point). So you find a place where you can pad your account with several million dollars before you retire.